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I am wondering if anyone else may have experienced the following issue. I had a faint sweet smell last few times that I run the engine. It was not overheating, started fine and I did not see any smoke. We motored in today and engine suddenly died after running for 5 minutes in gear. We tried to restart it and it cutoff after running for few seconds. At this point there was a distinct burning smell from the engine compartment - kinda like a burnt plastic. I did a quick check and did not see any smoke or any part that was too hot to the touch. So, I am thinking what should I look into here? My wild guess is to check the coil and replace it if it looks like suspect. Does anyone have any other suggestions what may be at play here?
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Alex
1976 Catalina 30
Perth Amboy, NJ -
Recently my starter and solenoid fried, and it smelled like the remnants of a house fire. Plastic smell might be the insulation of a wire that got hot because of a short. Check out the wires that connect to the coil.Jim Zeller
1982 Catalina 30
Kelleys Island, Ohio -
Burnt plastic smell makes me think of wiring that is shorted to ground.
If the wiring is burning few summary tests of the various circuits should lead you to the problem.
For example see if coil + is grounded when the key is on (battery circuit breaker off)
Also if the coil has been leaking oil it will overheat.
A sort of long shot is internal shorting inside wiring harness "trailer plugs".
Once you get this sorted out fuse protecting the various circuits* would be a good idea. A fire on a boat can ruin your whole day.
*ignition, starter, electric fuel pump, so on
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Thank you guys for the suggestions. I will try to look for the short. I doubt its a starter/solenoid since the engine starts just fine. The coil did not feel hot when we got back to the mooring, but it did take us a while to get back under sail. The coil oil leak may be feasible. I did see some oil in the bilge, but I thought it was coming from the water pump that is due to a rebuild. My coil is about 6 years old. My engine is used only lightly - I never motor for more than 30 minutes or so at a time. Does anyone know what is a typical coil life time?Alex
1976 Catalina 30
Perth Amboy, NJComment
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DO YOU HAVE AN ELECTRONIC IGNITION?
If you have an electronic ignition and the coil does not have the correct amount of resistance (to little resistance) it can run at a to hot temperature and fail prematurely.Originally posted by Wisakedjack View Post
ex TRUE GRITComment
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John, I do have EI. Several years ago I worked through the starting issues and add a ballast resistor before the coil. At the time I replaced the coil and had no issues. I am still wondering whether the smell that I reported could be a result of coil overheating. Thinking back to last week sails when I only had a faint sweet smell, it only developed after running engine for a while. So, it may be consistent with rising coil temperature.Alex
1976 Catalina 30
Perth Amboy, NJComment
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I think I know what the issue is. The coil seems to be fine. The Facet fuel pump did fail. There is no pressure in the output line (I have inline gauge that shows nothing). When I took a close look at the pump I saw black caked goo on the side. When I cleaned it out I saw burn mark there (see attached picture). I saw few posts on this forum with pictures showing exact same burns. Does anyone know the cause for this and how typical it is. My pump came with the boat, so it got to be at least 7 years old.
Alex
1976 Catalina 30
Perth Amboy, NJComment
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There was a issue a number of years ago with some faucet fuel pumps getting
over heated. Perhaps you may have one of these older pumps?
Best ArtComment
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Here is a follow up story. Hoping for some advise on what to do next...
I installed new Facet pump. Engine started right away and run for about 20 minutes after which I took the boat around the mooring field. At this point I am thinking I am back in business. I came back few days later to sail the boat. The engine started and run for about 10 minutes after which it abruptly shut down. I restarted it only to have it shut down in 30 seconds. I came back today to do a proper troubleshooting. Engine started again and cutoff after 30 seconds after which it would not start again. Here are the things that I tested:
1. Opened gas tank cap and tried to start again - no luck.
2. Checked spark from ignition coil - good
3. Checked spark plugs. They were not wet. Color was somewhat black, but not too bad. There was some rust on the threads.
4. Fuel pressure out of pump is ~4 psi. I disconnected fuel line from carburetor (after fine filter) and run the pump - got good flow. Looked at the fuel in the jar and it looked fine.
5. Opened plug on the carburetor and drained fuel - looked fine.
6. Removed flame arrestor - there was some fuel in the throat.
At this point I removed carburetor and took it home to clean up. I also got a new set of spark plugs. Going back to the boat tomorrow after cleaning carb. Since the issue started with bad fuel pump I am going on assumption that this is fuel related. Does anyone have any other suggestions on what may be going on and what else I could try. Any advise would be greatly appreciated.Alex
1976 Catalina 30
Perth Amboy, NJComment
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Your approach thoughtful....how does carb look?
Especially with fuel pooling.
Other issue is quality of fuel and running clean fuel from alternative source to test once carb is cleaned. Wonder about water. What do you see in fuel filter bowl?
Sounds like you may be running rich with plugs sooty. Link a picture to help make this clearer.
Might check your fuel filter bowl, pull bolt, drain until clear, just to see what is collecting.
You should be close. Thanks for sharing your diagnostic and work here.Tim Smith
Oasis
Pearson 30
1974, Number 572
Boston, MA USAComment
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A failing (or failed) coil behaves in this manner.
Try checking for spark immediately after a shut down.
ex TRUE GRITComment
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Tim, I did collect fuel from the carb bowl. It looked ok. I don't see any signs of water or foreign residues in my fuel. I do know that my fuel is not fresh. Most of it is 2 years old (my boat stayed on the hard last season). It did have stabilizer added. I've been burning it this summer and I added about 5 gallons of fresh one this summer. I did some comments in other threads and got an impression that this still should be ok. I will try to run the engine from a portable tank using fresh fuel.
John, I will check the coil tomorrow. I actually have a spare one I could try. Makes me wonder though what are the chances that both fuel pump and coil failed almost at the same time?
Thanks again for your comments. I am about a week from boat haul out and still need to unstep my mast. So, I am in a tight spot and any help is greatly appreciated. Will update about my progress
Alex
1976 Catalina 30
Perth Amboy, NJComment
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Any chance the key was left on for a spell while troubleshooting when the engine wasn't running?Originally posted by Wisakedjack View Post
On my boat the only time the key was in the slot was when the engine was being cranked or was running.
Also you could poke around with a volt meter after shutdown just to be sure you are getting power to the various components (key, coil +, OPSS, fuel pump)
ex TRUE GRITComment
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While unlikely I can't entirely rule the possibility that key was on while engine was not running. I've fried my coil before by leaving key in, so I do watch for this. I will check the voltages. Thanks.Alex
1976 Catalina 30
Perth Amboy, NJComment
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How’s your oil pressure?Comment
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